Current educational research shows that Black males are underperforming in urban high schools across the nation (Noguera, 2009). Typically over-disciplined and underserved, the schooling experiences of Black young men continue to be highlighted by violence, machismo and high drop out rates. There has been a push by scholars to reframe the dialogue and pedagogical strategies for Black boys in order to transform teaching and learning (Morton & Toldson, 2012). However, little research has been conducted on how adult Black men remember their high school experiences. Using a Critical Race Theory epistemology that draws upon sociocultural conceptions of literacy and poetry as research, this dissertation explored how former Black male students aged 20-30 remembered their secondary schooling experiences and how their respective literacies (New London Group, 1996) impacted their perceptions of Black masculinities and education. Through the qualitative method of portraiture, visual images of four participants were constructed through poetry, journal entries and recorded face-to-face conversations. Because “understandings of Black men and boys are scripted and made legible in the United States within the context of the lowest expectations” (Neal, 2012), the ongoing conversations with the men were meant to explore that stereotypical representation while recreating perceptions of who Black men are in a multifaceted way. It is critical to look at how the secondary classroom is remembered and how it may impact an individual’s conception of self and life outcomes. Considering Toni Morrison’s rememory (1987), which refers to the ability of an individual to both remember as well as reconstruct the past, the men were asked to recall their experiences in New York City public schools over the course of a four-month period. The study addresses these questions specifically: 1) How does a select group of men who identify as Black, (re)member the secondary English classroom? 2) What do these (re)memberings indicate about their interpretations of their respective literacies, teaching/learning and their lives? 3) What are the participants’ perceptions of what counts as literacy? 4) How do they critique (if at all) their public educational experiences and how does this impact their understandings of their own masculinities? Some key findings as a result of the research questions include: 1) Black male literacies are not honored in New York City Public high schools 2) Black masculinities are a constant threat in schools and urban communities 3) Black men have collective racialized memories about experiences in NYC public schools and 4) English educators often avoid discussions of race in their students’ lives. These key findings reveal that the intersections between race, masculinities and literacies play a pivotal role in English education while challenging some of the current research in the field and can have transformative implications for researchers, policy makers and practitioners as reflected throughout the data and analysis.

This dissertation explores feminist pedagogies, taken up as entirely contingent on the historical moment from which they develop and therefore specific to particular culture and politics, as offering alternative methods and rationale(s) for English education, no matter the era. Proposing that these pedagogies stand in opposition to a “politics of rationality” with its, for example, emphasis on high-stakes testing as “evidence” of accountability in the U.S., this dissertation claims feminist pedagogies are closer to failure than success. It is this lens of “failure” wherein an education of difference, one less violent, and more reparative, may be a starting point for a different kind of public education in America. Feminist pedagogies in this dissertation include those researched in three National Council of Teachers of English journals -- Language Arts, Voices from the Middle, and The English Journal. Some quiet, and some loud, feminist ways of teaching that subvert notions of "progress" in education rely on intimacies and attachments between human beings in local, literacy-rich settings that would have us question and radically change the foci and structure of English education. Moving away from the faulty value of measurement and towards the value of a less fixed, more dynamic value of love, this dissertation argues that the transformative power of the nurturing classroom has the potential to re-envision what is possible for children, especially those on the margins.

Most learning occurs in social contexts through interaction with other people. Such learning is possible only when individuals are able to communicate with understanding. Currently, the most commonly used mode of communication for instruction in schools for the deaf in the United States is a bimodal form of signs and speech referred to as “simultaneous communication” (SIMCOM). Numerous studies have addressed the practicability of teachers’ attempts to produce this mode for instruction, but fewer have attempted to understand its impact on deaf children’s comprehension. This study examined the effect of communication mode on story recall performance in thirty-six 11- to 14-year-old deaf students. Participants were presented with a series of short stories “bimodally” (using simultaneous sign and speech/SIMCOM) and “unimodally” (using sign only) and then asked to recall whatever they could remember. A within-subjects analysis was used to examine the differences in recall scores as a function of communication mode. Analysis of secondary variables was included to note effects on the dependent variable. Mode of participants’ response was also coded and analyzed. Results of the study showed statistically significant differences in the mean story-retell scores between the two conditions, with participants scoring higher during the sign-only condition than in the SIMCOM condition. Age, gender, pure-tone average, type of hearing-assistive technology (hearing aids or cochlear implants), and home language did not affect overall retell scores, except that older students performed slightly better than did younger students. Standardized reading scores were strongly correlated with retell scores in both conditions, suggesting that these students had higher overall language skills. Most participants responded using a sign-only mode, and this was taken to mean that sign only was the dominant mode for these participants. These results provide support for the idea that for these deaf participants, simultaneously received speech and sign messages may have compromised comprehension by competing for limited attentional resources. In this study, attempts at comprehension of SIMCOM may be evidence of the redundancy principle, which states that attention is split when the same information is presented in multiple modalities. Continued research on deaf students’ ability to integrate simultaneously presented auditory and visual language is suggested.

<p> This research study examines the contexts and situations that influence student attrition at a K-12, fulltime, comprehensive, cyber (online) charter school in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. As compared to their bricks and mortar counterparts, the attrition rate of students attending online K-12 schools appears to be higher. Research shows that student attrition in K-12 online schools and programs appears to be an ongoing phenomenon experienced in other states where cyber schools operate as well. In fact, the attrition phenomenon has been documented to be true even for adults that attend online courses at the college and university level. While there is scholarly research addressing the phenomenon at the university level, there's a dearth of empirical research at the K-12 level. As such, this study will provide an opportunity to carefully investigate the myriad situations and complexities involved in parent decision-making, as they decide to withdraw their children attending the cyber-school.</p><p> The research study consults scholarly literature of student persistence in online, higher education programs and adapts some of those concepts, ultimately incorporating them into a cogent conceptual framework. The analysis undertaken is conducted utilizing a case study approach, incorporating mixed methodologies. After surfacing a brief history of online education, the research study applies binomial logistic regression on variables uncovered through data collection. It then progresses to qualitative analysis of a variety of historical school provided data and selected participant interviews.</p><p> The research provides a first-hand view of the myriad issues and concerns that combine in decision-making as students and parents involve themselves in cyber learning. It also highlights the operational demands that make K-12 cyber education a dynamic environment.</p>

<p> Hip-hop is a powerful vehicle for student expression. Many young people today see hip-hop music as an outlet for expression and many of the adults, be they teachers, parents, or law enforcement, are often dismissive of the expression. Schools focused on meeting mandates handed down from departments of education and other political bodies are more interested in competing for scores and they often fail to listen to the people that our society marginalizes most. Educators need to learn to listen to what students have to say through their behavior, their dress, their music and their art, especially music. Unfortunately, the elements that characterize hip hop culture, specifically, graffiti, music, dress and poetry are often intimidating for adults and make them uncomfortable. This seems to be especially true in schools where hip hop is viewed as counter-productive to the goals of education. Like other styles of art however, hip hop serves as a vehicle for &ldquo;expressing a range of feelings&rdquo; that teenagers might otherwise suppress or channel into negative behavior. Allowing students the opportunity to use writing to communicate something meaningful and really paying attention to what they write has to be a primary responsibility of teachers.</p><p> This participant observation research project looks at the ways in which the participants in an extra-curricular hip hop music production club contribute to the teaching and learning that take place within a community of practice. Using the four dimensions of critical literacy (Lewison, Leland, &amp; Harste, 2008) the data shows how participants in the program moved from the questioning the hip hop music presented in mainstream culture to creating their music that promotes social justice.</p>

This is a case study of teaching practitioners in two school settings, one in Shanghai and the other in the Yorkshire region of England. Its focus is on their views and values regarding the use of educational research in relation to their own practice and how their social practices as well as cultural orientations influence their use of different kinds of knowledge. The research problem addressed is the one identified in the 1990s’ policy debate about why much educational research does not seem to be directly helping teachers in improving their practice. Although the situation might have changed more recently with the greater development of evidence-based practice and some teachers’ active engagement in research, how practitioners make research meaningful to them remains unclear. This study aims to clarify how these teachers regard the idea of research-informed practice. The principal method of data collection was semi-structured interviewing. Other methods were used only to support the validity of interpretations in the analysis of interview data. This analysis shows that with respect to published research produced elsewhere and to their own research activities, the use, if any, that these practitioners make of research is likely to depend on whether they can appropriately recontextualize it according to the professional knowledge they value in their own networks or communities of practice. That process of recontextualization is one with which they are familiar from their social practice of transforming explicit codified knowledge embedded in curriculum documents, textbooks and other context-independent learning resources into pedagogic activities according to their tacit experiential understanding of what works in their particular situation. The high value placed on tacit situated knowledge as an essential component of professional knowledge and development is maintained when these practitioners extend recontextualization to research knowledge and evidence. It is present in the sense of agency and professional identity that is a priority for practitioners in each setting, although the respective cultural orientations towards it are different. A relational model is developed from the case study findings, with implications for revising the aims of educational research towards working with teachers to understand better their recontextualizing practice rather than seeking transferable prescriptions of pedagogy as a technical instrument.

Tämän kandidaatintutkielman tarkoitus on selvittää, mitä oppimismotivaatio ja positiivinen pedagogiikka ovat ja miten oppimismotivaatiota voidaan tukea positiivisen pedagogiikan avulla. Tutkimus on toteutettu kvalitatiivisena tutkimuksena ja tutkimusmenetelmänä on käytetty integroivaa kirjallisuuskatsausta. Tutkimuksessa on käytetty suomalaista ja kansainvälistä tieteellistä kirjallisuutta ja tutkimustuloksia. Oppimismotivaatio on voima, joka ohjaa ihmisen käyttäytymistä ja toimintaa oppiakseen. Motivaatio on suorassa yhteydessä oppimiseen. Oppimismotivaatioon vaikuttavat useat seikat muun muassa aikaisemmat kokemukset, ennakoinnit ja odotukset tehtävästä. Myös hyvinvoinnilla ja koetuilla tunteilla on vaikutusta motivaatioon. Positiivinen pedagogiikka on hyvinvointiin ja myönteisiin tunteisiin pohjautuva pedagoginen suuntaus. Sen tarkoitus on tukea hyvinvointia myönteisen vuorovaikutuksen avulla. Tavoitteena on vahvistaa yhteisöllisyyttä, parantaa ilmapiiriä sekä keskittyä vahvuuksiin ja onnistumisiin. Positiivisen pedagogiikan ajatukset tukevat Ryanin ja Decin (2000) itsemääräämisteorian mukaisia autonomian, pystyvyyden ja yhteenkuuluvuuden kokemuksia, minkä vuoksi positiivisen pedagogiikan avulla voidaan tukea myös oppimismotivaatiota. Laadullisen tutkimuksen ominaispiirteiden vuoksi tutkimustuloksia ei voida yleistää, sillä tarkoitus on tuottaa vain lisää ymmärrystä aiheesta. Positiivinen pedagogiikka on myös suhteellisen tuore tutkimussuuntaus, joten tutkimuksia aiheesta on melko vähän. Lisäksi on syytä huomioida, että suuri osa tutkimuksista on kansainvälisiä, joten kaikkia tutkimustuloksia ei voida tuoda suoraan suomalaiseen yhteiskuntaan.

Jatkuvasti muuttuvassa työelämässä tarvitaan monia avaintaitoja, joihin terve itsetunto vaikuttaa myönteisesti. Terve itsetunto lisää sinnikästä yrittämistä, edesauttaa sosiaalisten suhteiden luomisessa sekä lisää kokeilevuutta ja aloitekykyä. Lisäksi sen on havaittu olevan yhteydessä parempaan työllistymis- ja sopeutumiskykyyn sekä onnellisuuteen. Perusopetuksen tavoitteena on tukea oppilaan kasvua terveen itsetunnon omaavaksi ihmiseksi. Tutkielman tarkoituksena on selvittää, miten itsetunto kehittyy lapsuudessa, miten merkittävät muut ihmiset vaikuttavat siihen ja miten itsetuntoa voidaan tukea peruskoulussa. Tutkielma on toteutettu kuvailevana kirjallisuuskatsauksena perehtyen monipuolisesti kirjallisuuteen ja tutkimustietoon itsetunnosta kohdistuen erityisesti luokanopettajan työkenttään kuuluvien lasten ja nuoren ikäryhmään (6–13 v.). Sosiaalis-kognitiiviseen teorian mukaan ihmisen ajatukset, tunteet, käyttäytyminen ja ympäristö vaikuttavat toisiinsa muokaten siten jatkuvasti myös ihmisen käsitystä itsestään. Itsetunnon käsite esiintyy teorioissa osittain päällekkäin minäkäsityksen ja itseluottamuksen kanssa. Itsetunnon katsotaan koostuvan yleisestä itsearvostuksesta ja eriytyneistä itsetunnon osista elämän eri alueilla. Matalimmillaan itsetunto on varhaisnuoruudessa, lähtien murrosiän jälkeen uudelleen nousuun. Itsetunnossa on havaittu olevan suhteellisen vakaa, hitaasti muuttuva ja tilannekohtaisesti vaihteleva osa. Vanhempien ja merkittävien muiden ihmisten hyväksyntä ja omat onnistumisen kokemukset kasvattavat itsetuntoa. Lapsen itsetuntoa ja kehittymistä tukee parhaiten auktoritatiivinen eli ohjaava vanhemmuustyyli, missä lapselle tarjotaan rakkautta ja rajoja osoittaen aitoa kiinnostusta lasta kohtaan. Itsetunnon kehitys vaatii johonkin kuulumisen tunnetta ja vertaisilta saatua hyväksyntää. Koulussa itsetuntoa voidaan tukea menetelmillä, jotka kehittävät oppilaan työskentely- ja oppimistapoja, lisäävät itsetuntemusta ja omien ajattelutapojen ja tunteiden tiedostamista. Yhteisöllinen ja osallisuutta tukeva ympäristö sekä rohkaiseva ja myönteinen palaute antavat oppilaalle hyväksytyksi tulemisen tunteen kasvattaen siten hänen itsetuntoaan.

Asian Americans are a rapidly growing population in the US and have high levels of psychological distress. However, Asian Americans tend not to ask for help from mental health professionals in regards to social/emotional issues, including school counselors. Asian American students are typical in terms of their presence within the US mainstream public school system, yet they are atypical in experiencing a variety of stressors and issues such as academic pressures, language and communication difficulties with parents/guardians, acculturative stress, and many more (Chang & Smith, 2015; Mouw & Xie, 1999; Berry, 2005). Despite mental health needs and the growing relevance of this population, research on the Asian American population is limited (Cho & Haslam, 2010). Thus, the purpose of this research study was to gain an understanding of participants’ experiences with Asian American students through the lens of the help-seeking model (Cauce et al., 2002). Two high schools and one middle school in a suburban area within the Southeast region of the US were purposefully selected for this study, and from these schools, eight high school counselors and two middle school counselors were interviewed. Participants were specifically asked about interactions, observations, and accommodations pertaining to the help-seeking needs of Asian American students. Data was collected through semi-structured individual interviews, which were then transcribed and analyzed for themes and conclusions. Four main themes (acculturative stress, school based expectations, lack of mental health counseling, and counselor involvement) with 10 subthemes were extrapolated from the data and confirmed the current literature on the help-seeking needs and processes of Asian American students. The study brought new insights to this topic and provided implications for future practice and research.

This study analyzed the relationship between young children’s language development and behavior problem ratings from their teachers and parents. It examined this relation to determine to what extent children’s language delays are associated with clinically significant levels of behavior problems, the degree to which the level of language delay is related to behavior problem ratings by both teachers and parents, and the degree of correlation between teachers’ and parents’ ratings of behavior. Participants were teachers and parents of children between two to five years of age in Washington County early intervention classrooms. Parents and teachers of the children returned Informed Consent Documents and were asked to complete the appropriate version of the Child Behavior Checklist for Ages 1 ½ to 5 (CBCL 1 ½ -5) about their student or child (Achenbach & Rescorla, 2000). A measure of language development from the Battelle Developmental Inventory was obtained from the child’s existing language assessment data in his or her school record (Newborg, Stock,Wnek,Guidubaldi, & Svinicki, 1984). The expressive and receptive language age equivalent score from the Commjunication sub-test of the Battelle Developmental Inventory was analyzed for each child (Newborg, Stock,Wnek,Guidubaldi, & Svinicki, 1984). Low negative correlations were found between the Total Behavior Problem score and Receptive Language, as well as between Total External Behavior Problem score and Receptive Language. Teachers and parents showed moderate to high agreement on child behavior ratings. Implications for understanding the reciprocal role of language and behavior development and for future research were discussed.